80% of healthcare professionals believe AI to improve access to quality healthcare in rural areas: Philips report

Philips, a global leader in health technology, has announced the India findings of its Future Health Index 2026 report. The global research surveyed over 2,000 healthcare professionals and over 20,000 patients across 10 countries, including 200 healthcare professionals and 2,004 patients in India.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is delivering measurable benefits across the Indian healthcare ecosystem. More than 8 in 10 (85%) healthcare professionals in India are optimistic that AI can improve patient outcomes, up from 76% in the 2025 report. AI is also expanding clinical capacity: among those who reported an increase (71%), clinicians are seeing a median of 10 additional patients per week. This underlines the growing role of AI in supporting care delivery at a time when healthcare systems are working to serve more people with existing resources.

AI is also helping healthcare professionals use their time differently. 58% of healthcare professionals in India report average annual time savings of at least 132 hours, equivalent to more than three full working weeks. These efficiencies are beginning to support more meaningful care conversations, with 75% saying AI is leading to more thorough interactions with patients.

As AI becomes more deeply integrated into healthcare, healthcare professionals highlighted the need for stronger AI training, technical support and governance to enable confident and responsible adoption.